NARUC President Appoints Illinois Commissioner McCabe to Chair Nuclear Waste Subcommittee

For Immediate Release: August 6, 2015
Contact: Regina L. Davis, 202-898-9382, rdavis@naruc.org

WASHINGTON—National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners President Lisa Edgar appointed Commissioner Ann McCabe, from the Illinois Commerce Commission (ICC), as Chair of the Subcommittee on Nuclear Issues—Waste Disposal.

Chair McCabe, who has served on the Subcommittee, is replacing former Commissioner Greg R. White, whose term expired at the Michigan Commission. Commissioner Lauren McDonald, Jr. of the Georgia Public Service Commission will remain as Vice Chair.

The Subcommittee, formed in 1984, was established to help ensure that ratepayer dollars are targeted at an effective national management and disposal program for spent nuclear fuel and that is also aimed at protecting citizens’ health and safety.

McCabe was appointed to a five-year term to the ICC in March 2012. She focuses on regional transmission, cyber security, retail electric choice and future of the utility/regulatory model issues. She is a member of NARUC’s Committee on Critical Infrastructure and Committee on Energy Resources and the Environment, past president of the Organization of PJM States (OPSI) board and vice president of the Mid-America Regulatory Conference (MARC, June 2015-2016).

As a principal of two consulting firms, Commissioner McCabe conducted policy analysis and advocacy on energy and environmental issues for trade associations, corporations and environmental non-profits. She also managed environmental and fuels regulatory issues at Amoco and BP for ten years. After graduate school, she was an Illinois budget analyst, then an assistant to ICC commissioners and an associate director in the State of Illinois' Washington, D.C., office, including work on nuclear issues and the Clean Air Act Amendments of 1990.

Commissioner McCabe holds an M.A. in public policy from the University of Chicago and a B.A. in political science from Williams College. She served on the Illinois Environmental Council board for nine years and is past president of Chicago Women in Government Relations.

“The disposition of nuclear waste is of critical importance in our country. Commissioner McCabe has the background and leadership capability to guide this group and represent NARUC on a national platform,” said President Edgar. “Her experience on this Subcommittee ensures a seamless transition as we continue to push for an integrated nuclear waste disposal program.”

“It is a great honor to extend my role on the Subcommittee in this leadership capacity,” said McCabe. “Illinois is number 1 in U.S. nuclear generation.  I am pleased to serve alongside an excellent team of regulators who are committed to finding permanent solutions to the problem of nuclear waste disposal.”